a decision looming on afghanistan. but no matter what the strategy, it's going to be expensive. how to pay for the war, and will that lead to victory? >> millions of mempbs begin the holiday season out of work and desperate for a job. is it time for a change in strategy on the employment book.

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punishment for traffic passengers on a plane for hours on end. will it keep the airlines honest when it comes to taking care of their customers this holiday travel season. how drunk is your turkey? if the holiday travel exhausts you, stresses you out, maybe you should consider this. how about a little turkey with your liquor. the bar making big bucks off a little splash of vodka in every bite of turkey. good tuesday, everyone. i'm melissa francis. we're going to try some of that at some point in the show, right? >> yes, we are. the big story this hour, president obama is giving hints about his decision on what he wants to do next in afghanistan. >> during a news conference with india's prime minister today, the president said he'd make an announcement after thanksgiving. he said the buck will stop with him. >> after eight years, some of those years in which we did not have, i think, either the resources or the strategy to get the job done, it is my intention to finish the job.

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>> there's been a lot of talk about how much a troop surge is going to cost. it looks as though the white house is addressing those concerns with budget director peter orszag seen in this picture at last night's war council meeting. joining us, mike viqueira. what does he bring? >> a pair of green eye shades. he was the cbo director before he came over here in the new democratic administration who understands the governmental budget process and how much all of this is likely to cost. there was talk about the iraqi burn rate for many years now when the democrats were challenging president bush on how much that cost. $6 billion a month. $7 billion a month. now they're talking about comparable figures for afghanistan. that's bound to come as a disappointment to many who thought that the war expenditures in this country were going to go down now that the united states is coming out of iraq in significant numbers and is pretty much going to withdraw by the end of next year. the president said, yeah, you saw that sound bite.

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a subtle little dip at former vice president vice cheney, after eight years of lacking the resources and strategy we're going to finish the job. it was about a month ago vice president cheney accused president obama of dithering. certainly the president has studied this issue, scrutinized it very carefully. we believe last night was the ninth meeting in the situation room with all the principals gathered around at the table including peter orr zan, general petraeus, secretary clinton and secretary gates at times. general mcchrystal has been on the phone or there via video conference. last night appears to be the decision making meeting. we do expect an announcement by the president. he said it was after thanksgiving. i think we can assume that's not going to be friday or saturday. the smart thinking here and according to our reporting from savannah guthrie is probably tuesday or perhaps wednesday the president will deliver his decision to the nation and the world, contessa. >> mike, given everything else that's going on, everything we're trying to spend money on here domestically and elsewhere abroad, how tough a sell to this

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is the american public. >> it's going to be a tough sell to the public. it's going to be an even tougher sell to people in his own party and congress. i think depending on the troop levels, depending on how closely he adheres to general mcchrystal's top line request of 40,000 troops, i think republicans are largely going to be in line. it's hard to say. they might try to split a hair about the number or so. but it was democrats who even last year, earlier this year, wanted to put time lines before they were giving any more money. there is not a lot of pro-war sentiment within the democratic majorities in either the house or the senate. that is a potential problem because they are going to have to control the -- on whatever the president decides. >> mike viqueira, thank you very much. we had breaking news coming in to us right now from frankfurt, kentucky. a census worker was found hanging from a tree with fed

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scrawled across his chest. they believe he was actually -- actually that he killed himself. but that he staged his death to look like a homicide. again, this just coming in to us right now from soeshassociated . the body was found in september. there was speculation he might have been the -- he had taken out two life insurance policies that would not pay out for a suicide. >> the government is revising figures about how much the economy expanded in the third quarter. >> today the commerce department put third quarter growth at 2.8%. less than the original estimate of 3.5%. the latest survey of consumer confidence shows people are a bit more optimistic about the economy, just in time for the holiday shopping season. let's get a quick check on how the markets are trading. the dow right now is down 41 points, off the lows of the session. still down about four-tenths of a percent. more now on how investors are reacting to today's data.

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mary thompson is with us from cnbc global headquarters. >> it was pretty much a negative response to today's data from investors. keep in mind, of course, the dow did come off a 13-month high where it closed yesterday. within that gdp data, the lower revision, was a revision to consumer spending for the third quarter. it was revised downward to an increase of 2.9% from the original report of 3.2%. and this, of course, raises concerns because if the consumer doesn't start spending more money, there is -- there are questions about how strong this recovery will be. keep in mind, of course, consumer spending accounts for about two-thirds of economic growth. as this is all happening, i just want to point out that minutes have just been released from the federal reserves last meeting. within this fed officials and central bank officials express concerns about high unemployment. and if you have high unemployment, that suggests, of course, consumer spending is likely to be muted. again, raising concerns about the economy. on the plus side, just these minutes from the fed officials

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saying that they are confident in a durable recovery for the u.s. economy. those these high unemployment rates we're expecting to continue to see going into next year, the unemployment rate expected to be anywhere from 9.2% to 10.2% here in the u.s. according to the fed. will continue to be a drag on the economic recovery. back to you. today we're looking at new housing numbers. the takeaway here, home prices posted modest monthly gains. prices are still down year over year in many places. this news comes on the heels of a new report that shows one in four homeowners are under water. diana, no doubt you saw in the "wall street journal" today that story about this family whose house, they have a mortgage out and even a home equity line of credit for $675,000. their house they think is worth about $375,000. that problem of being under water is all over the country right now, isn't it? >> it is all over the country right now. it's only a problem if you've decided that you don't want to

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pay your mortgage or if you need to move or if you can't pay your mortgage. what's important to remember when we see these headlines that 25% of borrowers are under water on mortgages, that's a number on a piece of paper. it has ramify facts for those who can't pay their loans because they can't sell their home because they can't get what they need to pay for it. for many people they still can pay their mortgage and still can get by day-to-day. that means they can simply wait it out until home prices improve which we saw in the case-shiller. they are slowly improving. in some markets it will take a long time to get your home equity back. in others it will improve and come back in one, two, three years. if you want to sit tight you'll get your equity back and no longer be under water. >> are you looking at particular cities where the depression in the housing market continues to be the real sticking point? >> this is all centered mostly in the cities we talk about all the time. phoenix, las vegas, we talk about, you know, markets in florida and in california. those are the ones that are

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hardest hit. those are the ones where people will look at the amount of negative equity they have, say more than 20% under water and say i'm never going to get this back. i really don't want to sit in a home that's never going to be any value to me. and they can walk away. in other markets in the bulk of the country negative equity is more in the single digits. as i said, it will come back as we're already seeing. >> yeah. just a question of when. today general motors was dealt another setback in its drive to downsize. >> the automakers plan to sell the saab unit fell through. a swedish automaker made a deal to buy but it pulled out because of delays in closing the deal. it's the third gm deal to fall through so far this year. president obama vowed to make unemployment his top priority. so what are his options for putting americans back to work? plus, black friday used to be one day of serious sales. now it's a week long event. there's also cyber monday. we'll look at the best bargains out there. move over bikini car washes.

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there's a new way to get a cup of joe. you might get an eyeful, too. what does this have to do with the economy? >> they're making money. that's what it has to do with that. we'll be right back. hey thanks for the window seat. oh please. you got the presentation? oh yeah right here. let me stow that for you, sir. thank you. you know, just to be safe i used fedex office print online. oh you did? yeah -- they printed and bound 20 copies of the presentation, shipped it to portland, they're gonna be there waiting for us. that's a good idea. yeah. you have a nice flight. thank you. (announcer) print online...you upload your document -- we'll take care of the rest.

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we agreed to strengthen the economic recovery and expand trade and investments so we can create jobs for both our peoples, americans and indians. >> president obama's talking jobs sitting down with indian prime minister manmohan singh at the white house today. >> next week president obama holds a summit at the white house says he won't rest until people work again. thanks so much for joining us. they talk about sitting down and having this summit. i'm always a little bit

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pessimistic about how that -- real jobs are going to come out of that. we saw the shovel ready jobs with the stimulus. yet if you look at the bureau of labor statistics and look at the jobs in heavy machinery and construction they continue to go down. what can the government do? short of taking a cue from the ghost of fdr i don't know if there is anything out there. if you suddenly decide to built another transcontinental railroad. let's not be cynical. we're doing our best to tackle it. it's not easy. >> we were getting e-mails here at msnbc that suggested people were somewhat sprfrustrated wit the president sitting down bt indian prime minister and suggesting this was another version of his bow in china. that we're seeing so many jobs going off to india, that here's the president in a position now. >> interesting point. >> just to acede to what the indian prime minister wants. >> it's a good point. also right after you stuff

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yourselves with turkey and head over to walmart or best buy or kir cut city don't forget that this economy is also quite a beneficiary from the lower costs that we get from manufacturing being offshore. so consumers are being helped in that respect. we got numbers today about consumer sentiment. we got target coming out and saying we're going to have to have a heavy promotional season. this cuts both ways. there are no easy answers. >> when we're talking about unemployment and you've got the -- right now the unemployment rate at 10.2%, the fed predicting we're going to see that rate actually rise, you mentioned taking a cue from fdr and creating a tennessee valley authority or a conservation -- >> how about cutting corporate taxes so they can hire more people? >> why would they do that? even right now you're seeing companies starting to make money. they're not hiring more people. they're saying look at our profit margins. we can make do with the people we have. >> you can only make do for so long. productivity jumped -- >> this should be self-correcting. a company if it starts feeling

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its oats and sees there's a revenue opportunity is to lean, so stealth, those things will take care of themselves. there's no sign of that. this has kind of become a vicious cycle at this point. people losing their jobs are worried about losing their jobs cutting back. other people are worried about losing their jobs. >> what's the answer? >> if i had the answer, gosh, id be at the treasury department myself. this is a tough thing politically. >> is it just time? what's the answer that turns around jobs in the economy? >> 10% unemployment is not something that has visited this country in more than 25 years. >> here's what i don't get. there are so many projects that need money and need manpower. there are crumbling bridges. we know that our infrastructure's a problem. we want to make progress on innovating with green industry. why isn't that happen sentencing. >> we also want health care reform. we also want climate change regulation. we want all manner of things. we bailed out the financial services system. is there money to go around? right now the dollar is being debased. china is leading on us. these things require political

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capital and financial capital, neither of which the united states has a surplus of. >> that's why we had all those treasury actions today. to finance stuff. >> on that note, happy thanksgiving. >> so depressed. we're having a drunk turkey later on. maybe you should hang around for that after that discussion. more young adults are heading home for the holidays and staying there. a new pew research poll finds 10% of people 35 and younger say they moved back home with their parents because of the recession. that's not the only life change they're making. 12% got a roommate. 15% put off getting married. 14% delayed having a baby. >> although if you get married doesn't that double your income? >> i guess. but you got to pay for the wedding. >> no. elope. a washington espresso stand is making a buzz. some parents in the city are not happy because it opened across from a public playground and a day care center where they've never seen women in swim suits.

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not the first of its kind either in the area. but the location draws protests at city council meetings. there it is. >> i wonder why they only have video through the window barely seeing them. interesting. >> especially if you're trying to get people to watch. you'd think you'd want to show the actual -- >> there's more to the story than we know. >> talk about creating jobs. we'll be right back. here are ways to boost productivity. retrain or cross-train employees so your business can run on a lean staff. set standards. measure productivity and create realistic goals for yourself. and develop leaders internally instead of hiring outsiders. for more watch "your business" sunday mornings at 7:30 on msnbc. of maxwell house's flavor lock lid. hear that? seals it tight. smells like fresh ground. fresh fresh fresh fre-- that's our favorite part.

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today the attorney for the army strpsychiatrist accused of killing 13 people at the attack at ft. hood says his client will likely plead not guilty and could pursue an insanity defense. the lawyer for army major nidal hasan says the military court must consider his client's mental status because the allegations against hasan are at odds with his lifestyle and military career. hasan is charged with 13 counts of premeditated murder in the november 5th shooting. former vice president dick

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cheney speaking out again. cheney says in a new radio interview attorney general eric holder wants a show trial for khalid shaikh mohammed and four other alleged 9/11 conspirators. the former vice president's also taking issue with obama for not yet announcing a decision about sending additional troops to afghanistan. sarah palin's "going rogue" is closing in on 1 million sold. according to to a source close to the former alaska governor she has already sold 700,000 copies. that includes preorder. it's less than a week after its official release, only. publisher harper collins announced its increasing the first printing to 2.5 million books. south carolina's putting its own spin on black friday. some are calling it black friday extravaganza. for 48 hours after thanksgiving legal gun purchases will be tax free. it amounts to a 9% discount on all firearms. the gun tax holiday was originally vetoed by governor mark sanford. state lawmakers overrode the veto. >> how about that.

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at a time when states are struggling with budgets and they're going to give you a tax free gun. it's no longer just a day. now black friday is a week. >> it's true. >> it's turning into big business for retailers, e-tailors and for savvy consumers. >> cnbc's carmen wong ulrich is here with the biggest price wars and how last minute shoppers may be left with an empty bag. this is the buzz of the season. no one has any inventory. they're all so worried about margins and being stuck with stuff after the holidays. so there's nothing there. if you don't get it early, you won't get it. is that true? >> to a point. if you're in high end luxury goods. sacks, for example, has sold out of their over the knee cushion for $2,000. stuff like that, sold out. i checked. >> is that something you were looking for yourself? >> no. not for myself. in my dreams. they are gone. last black friday was really dark. it was really a dark day. this black friday is just fierce. these retailers are going after your budget.

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because they know everybody's got a budget. everyone has a tight budget. they're going to fight for your dollars like crazy. huge retailing wars. >> i'm hearing about this shortage of these zhu zhu pets. these little hamsters that go around. and the thing is, targets and these stores are running out of the zhu zhu pets. if you know that this is the thing you're going to make money on in a holiday season, it's the hot thing, isn't your goal to stock as many as possible so you can make some money? >> this is the interesting thing. when i know that something i want is going to go away fast, i'm going to buy it now and i'll pay more for it. they're not discounting -- not necessarily discounting the zhu zhu or other things that people are really going to want to go after at this point. the real deep discounts, frankly, on black friday, a lot of them are kind of no-name brands. you really want to hold tight.

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for example, apple, 10% off i pods black friday only. 5% off macs. they never discount. >> how do i get the deal? >> you've got to get online. go to blackfriday.info. blackfriday2009.com. their whole existence depends on getting the sales info to you first. also if you're after something that's very popular like the zhu zhu, you want to get it early. you're going to have to pay the price, though. >> wait a minute. i'm getting the zhu zhu for melissa. >> really? >> what i want is i want the over the knee -- >> me, too. >> okay. i'll get two pairs just for you guys. anything else while i'm at it? >> you want to check for black friday, if you can't make it to the stores, head online. tons of online sales. don't forget facebook. these retailers, they want to be

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friends with you. toys r us, if you friend toys r us you get bigger discounts than anyone online or on the store. they have super secret discount sales for you. >> that's great. thank you. the department of transportation issues its first ever fine against an airline for stranding passengers on the tarmac. >> you got to love this one. >> we're going to talk with one of the passengers who got stranded on this continental flight. for six hours they were sitting on that plane strapped in. see if he thinks this is justice. >> more bail oout outrage. details on that straight ahead. what's our favorite part of honey bunches of oats?

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delays. >> the d.o.t. is issuing its first ever fine against an airline for stranding passengers on the tarmac. continental express flight 2816 was anything but express back in august. remember this? passengers were trapped on the plane for nearly six hours after being diverted in bad weather. the airline will have to pay $100,000 for the incident at rochester, minnesota. secretary ray lahood says he hopes this sends a signal to the rest of the airline industry that we expect airlines to respect the rights of air travelers. on the phone, link kristen who was on that flight. $100,000 fine for continental. they refunded all the ticket y prices to the passengers ands gave you guys a little something extra. is that signal enough? >> i think this is a particularly strong signal. this is is the first time in history that the d.o.t.'s enforcement department has ever done this in a situation that involves tarmac delays.

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they also specifically, you know, they made the finding that continental express jet violated the prohibition against unfair and deceptive practices in air transportation. so they made a substantive finding that this violation took place. so i think it's a tremendously significant day for anybody who's been in this situation or might have to be in this situation in the future. >> link, what have you done differently since this flight? are you avoiding continental express like the plague? do you fly less? did this experience change you? >> not at all. and, in fact, through this experience, i've heard so many stories of other people who have had, you know, similar problems. i went to washington and testified before congress and heard other stories. i think this is really throughout the airline industry. the fact that it happened to so many other people just makes me feel like they need to do something about it across the board. but for me personally, i have

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flown since and i'll fly any airline that gets me where i need to go. >> what did you do during that six hours, exactly? what was it like? how did you keep yourself busy? >> well, i didn't have much choice. because whenever i tried to sleep, i was actually right next to the bathroom. and there wasn't enough leg room where you could put your leg under a seat. so either i had the baby cry in front of me, the baby cry behind me, because these babies were starving and thirsty, or somebody tripped over my foot trying to go to the bathroom. literally all i did was try to sleep for five minutes at a time. and just kind of keep my composure. >> it's the kind of horror story that most of us have been through. though not for six hours. >> not to that extent. >> which seems to have been maybe that was the straw that broke the camel's back. we hope for the holiday season you encounter nothing but easy travel. >> the rest of your life, in

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fact, as a result of that. >> the other thing that was frustrating for the passengers, they kept being told 20 more minutes, 10 more minutes. nobody came on and said, we're stuck here. they also found that -- they told continental, and it was false, that, no, the passengers can't come into the terminal because there are no tsa agents. everybody who flies knows as long as you don't go past security, you're fine. you don't need tsa agents as long as nobody leaves there. >> speaking of travel, hartsfield airport in atlanta, the weather channel's julie martin is there. this is really an effective story. right before. it's a word of warning to the airlines but also for passengers that you have to gear up for tough times. how is it looking out there? >> reporter: you really do. in fact, we're at the terminal that is home to continental, american and air tran. i can tell you nothing of that magnitude happening here at the hartsfield-jackson airport. the world's busiest airport

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today. it's only going to get busier as we move closer to thanksgiving and beyond. air travel, guys, is down about 6% this year. the travel analysts say don't really pay attention to that number. it really isn't going to impact you in any great way if you are traveling this holiday season. there's still a tremendous number of travelers in the airways. here at hartsfield-jackson, the airport expects 1.7 million people to pass through by monday. so that, again, keep in mind, an average day, an average busy day, 250,000 passengers. we're talking about a huge influx of people. again, use your common sense. bring your patience along. and do follow the tsa rules. if you aren't sure, maybe you're a family that doesn't usually travel, just make sure you check ahead. because you don't want to get stuck in there. certainly don't get stuck on the plane either. >> also it helps to call ahead so you don't annoy the rest of the passengers behind you who do travel all the time. i'm not saying anything, that i

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have ever felt annoyance at people who don't know the rules. more than a year later the nation is still cleaning up the mess from the financial meltdown of some major wall street banks. most notably the fall of lehman brothers and bear stearns. >> thousands of people were laid off. banks over the world trembled. a new report out today shows executives at lehman brothers and bear stearns still walked away with millions. nbc news senior investigator correspondent lisa myers joins us now. >> hi, contessa and melissa. the study found that executives at lehman brothers and bear stearns catshed in big time in the years before their firms imploded. even though they suffered huge losses at the end, their ceos still walked away with hundreds of millions of dollars. critics call it being richly rewarded for failure. it was the early phase of the financial meltdown last year. first bear stearns was sold to avoid collapse. then lehman brothers went bankrupt.

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shareholders lost billions. and thousands of employees lost jobs. but a new study by experts at harvard law school titled "wages of failure" found that since 2000, the top five executives at each firm had received staggering amounts of cash bonuses and had sold mountains of stock. bear stearns executives cashed out about $1.4 billion. and lehman brothers, $1 billion. >> people who invested in these companies should feel betrayed. the whole idea of capitalism is that the people provide the capital, and the executives take care of it for us. in this case the people provided their capital and the executives took it. >> reporter: the study found that when the firms collapsed, both bear stearns ceo james cane and lehman ceo richard fold lost about $900 million worth of stock. but the study said they still came out well ahead over all. cane walked away with $388 million.

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and fold, $541 million. >> they were rewarded hundreds of millions of dollars. and they got that reward for making catastrophic decisions. >> reporter: last year cane bought two kond min yums here at the iconic plaza hotel in new york city. $28 million. fold also remains a wealthy main. an $8 million estate in greenwich, connecticut. has a $14 million ocean front estate in florida which he sold to his wife for $100 earlier this year. shareholders are suing executives of both firms. gerald silk represents former lehman shareholders who claim executives weren't truthful about the firm's financial condition. >> lehman crashed and shareholders lost billions of dollars. when dick fold and others walked

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away personally very, very wealthy. >> so far neither fold nor cane have commented on this study. both men have deniy eied wrong g and said their firms were swept under by a financial tsunami. cane has apologized to employers and investors and fuld says he wakes up every night thinking what could i have done differently? >> thank you. looks like california governor arnold schwarzenegger is following his wife's lead. take a look at some pictures we got from tmz. the governator parking his car in a red zone in beverly hills. that's a violation of state law. that ticket could be worth $90. >> until now it's been his wife maria getting photographed breaking the rules in her car. also been caught parking in a red zone and driving while holding her cell phone which is also against the law in california. we'll be right back. plain tissue can make it burn even more.

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in order to pay back the money, the banks will have to show they can actually raise money from private investors. they need to pay it back but they have to prove they can pay it back. interesting. banks received about $142 billion in bailout funds. >> prosecutors are investigating about a dozen suspected cases of fraud involving money from the stimulus package. according to "usa today" there are also 88 invests into potential misuse of the money. >> i can want read. i'm about to sneeze. you got to go. >> we're waiting. it includesed files false statements and attempts -- >> no sneeze yet. >> you confess it. it goes away. "usa today" gathered the information from 29 federal

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agencies that are managing the stimulus money. it's a weird thing, isn't it? if you say i'm going to sneeze you can just stop. >> are you noticing a draft in your home as the winter they didn't have any extra suits for me today. let me take you through the process. a single mom of three owns this home. she applied to a local nonprofit. margaret community corp. they approved her. came out for an energy audit. they take this infrared machine for this. it goes into the walls and tells you where there's cold. that's where they know to insulate. not only do they insulate, they

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make the house more airtight. they clean your boiler, install new lights, new appliances, whatever it take. for edwards it was just really a watershed moment when she opened up a bill late last winter. >> my january fuel bill. it was $600 for one month. it was -- i almost had a heart attack when i saw that bill. i called them right away. they're like, well, yeah, that is your fuel bill. so it reminded me of that commercial that says, i'm heating my neighborhood. and i'm like, i'm heating my neighborhood! >> she's very excited. she's going to save a lot of money. and also the entire country in terms of energy efficiency when all is said and done, $5 billion. it's going to weatherize in 2010 about 1 million homes a year according to to the d.o.e. they're going to save a dollar for every $2.73 spent.

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we're going to create jobs through getting local companies doing the work, money for each homeowner and the whole country is going to save energy and lessen the dependence on oil. as melissa knows 18 million barrels of oil sounds like a lot. in the united states it's actually not that much. >> brian, forgive me if you already explain third-degrined . maybe contessa was sneezing. how much is the government paying for? how do you find out if you qualify? >> reporter: great question. truth is, it's for lower income families. the statistic is basically you have to be 60% of the median income in your state. and the average per home is $6,500. you can have one home down the road that would only cost $2,000. one home down the road that's going to cost $8,500. they do the energy audit. whatever it takes to get it done the government will pay for it and get it done. >> nothing to sneeze about there. should i give it up? is it over? tonight president obama and the first lady host their first

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state dinner at the white house. the guest of honor is the indian prime minister singh. right now mrs. obama is giving a lesson. in 1939 franklin and eleanor roosevelt caused quite a scandal serving a hot dog to the queen of england. not necessarily royal fare. >> but i bet it was delicious. come on. >> through the years the menu has changed. one thing remains the same here. >> a spot at the table is the ultimate in the who's who in the political elite and beyond. how do you get invited? >> you have to be important. or no somebody pretty tight in the white house. it is easily one of the toughest tickets to get in town. the white house correspondents dinner doesn't even come close to this. so it's obviously a lot of people. this is a dinner where a lot of business gets done. if the white house would like to put a couple people together, if they want to try to pass on a bit of their message or a bit of some of their issues, this is one good way to do it.

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>> if we're looking at who's being invited here, m. knight sham lan. he's the director of those scary movies. if you're doing business, what does he bring to the table? >> obviously you can't escape a state dinner without having a bit of star appeal. you'll notice there are plenty of celebrities. steven spielberg. jennifer hudson is going to be performing. oprah will not be making it contrary to earlier rumors. this is the white house's first state dinner. they want to show off the pomp and circumstance of the white house. one of the ways to do that is to have a lot of celebrities over. obviously with a connection to india or indian businesses. >> by the way, apparently this is so big the report we got was that it's taking place in a tent. so it's like, hey, welcome to the united states. let's head out to the tent, shall we? >> that's right. it's not the first time it's been in a tent. if you want to have a lot of people in a state dinner, there just isn't the room. 320 people here tonight. they're going to do it in a tent on the south lawn. it's not exactly your everydetente. this is basically an incredibly

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fancy pavilion. they hope you won't even know you're in a tent. probably one of the nicest tent ts you've ever seen. plenty of all the acute remeants and glamour. >> rahm emanuel's brother, very famous in his own right. cnn's sanjay gupta. were you invited, contessa? >> i was not. >> next year. >> yeah. maybe next year. tell us about some of the other people on the list. we also see there's a mix of politicians as well. nancy pelosi. john kerry. >> that's right. you can obviously expect the regular folks. secretary of state hillary clinton. a lot of people in obama's cabinet. what's interesting is some of the people who didn't get invited. senator ben nelson who's huge in the health care debate did not get an invite. bill clinton cannot make it even though he was invited. john boehner cannot make it even though he was invited. harry reid cannot make it even

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though he was invited either due to thanksgiving plans or previous obligations. who do you not like that you want to get to like you? give them an invite. this was a three months process to get the invites. they wrapped up about a month ago. there's a lot of jockeys that takes place in d.c. to try to get one of them. >> did you see the menu. red lentil soup. prawns. >> an arugula, of course. take a bite out of this turkey. you might really have something to be thankful first. >> a taste of the culinary first. 100 proof vodka turkey. to stay on top of my game after 50,

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manhattan tavern is hoping you're thinking. >> casey's tavern has been injecting turkeys with a blend of 100 proof vodka for three days. joining me is the owner of okaysy's tavern and the chief executive chef. thanks to both of you for joining us. what gave you the idea to put vodka in the turkey? why vodka over any other kind of liquor? >> this recipe is from 15 years ago from my mother. >> mother or mother-in-law driving you crazy? >> my mother. she decided to come up with this over the last year. we've been playing with the idea with all the flavor of vodkas. >> this is "it's the economy." this is about making money on thanksgiving day. tell us what you do to this particular turkey to try and lure customers. >> more or less we take five flavored c eed vodkas. orange, cherry, cranberry.

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put it in a bowl and marinade it over a three-day period. i mix it with sage. i inject it into the turkey itself. you can see it right here. then i just roast the turkey. and most of it i call actually burning off when you cook the turkey. >> that was one thing p. i talked on twitter, let the swe tweeters know we were going to do this. they said all the alcohol burns off. does all the alcohol burn off? >> not really, no. the turkey will not reach the temperature for it to burn off. i'm using the sauce and juices from the turkey to make the gravy for the turkey. i also add about 8 ounces. >> i think we have video of you actually doing that so people at home can see exactly how you do it in case they want to try to do it at home. does it change the texture of the turkey at all? does it make it tougher? >> no. it makes it very sweet. the flesh of the turkey is very sweet. >> cut some for contessa to have a bite there. >> in terms of a gimmick, if

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you're trying to -- in new york the big thing is going out to eat on thanksgiving day. how is it working for you businesswise? does it increase the business you see? >> it definitely increases our business. it gives people flavor of the day for thanksgiving. they want to enjoy a good turkey. >> how many people are coming in? >> 160, 170. we've got a lot of turkeys preordered to be deliver zbld are you making more money on this thanksgiving than last thanks giving? >> no. it costs more to make this turkey than it would be a normal turkey. >> why does it cost more? we hear about food deflation. >> the booze. >> the alcohol is more expensive this year? >> we marinaded this turkey in alcohol. we're actually saving people a lot of money by having a two in one. >> it's efficient. you're saving them time. >> chef paul, do you want to cut into this while we're talking about that? >> sure. >> and just as a -- how much are you going to charge for thanksgiving dinner?

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>> for a thanksgiving dinner we're charging $29.95. >> it comes with the side dishes that are also booze infused? >> no. just from the gravy. we decided to put the gravy all over the mash potatoes and everything. >> are there other restaurants that are getting -- i would imagine the publicity -- >> the last couple of days people are. >> go, contessa. what does it taste like? >> it tastes moist and delicious. i don't taste any vodka, but it tastes delicious. >> that's good. >> thank you, chef paul. david shuster and tamron hall pick things up next. well-informed people are considering chevy malibu. you a cop? no. you didn't hear from me, but this malibu is a best buy. i heard that from consumers digest. it offers better highway mileage than a comparable camry or accord. estimated 33 highway. i saw that on the epa site. so how come the malibu costs so little. it's a chevy.

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